02 · PLANNING

Strategic Marketing Planning

The bridge between what the data says and what has to be done on Monday morning. Without that bridge, research ends up as a filed report.

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Strategic planning at RP&A Latinoamérica always starts from an analysis of the environment, the competition, market trends, consumption habits and the client's internal capabilities. A plan is not built on assumptions: it is built on what the research has already demonstrated.

That includes deciding where to compete and where not to. Territorial coverage, positioning against competitors and the allocation of commercial effort are decisions made with field evidence, not intuition. Competitive benchmarking provides the external contrast that internal exercises usually lack.

The plan is delivered with everything needed to execute it: corporate identity manuals, brand tone and narrative definition, and training for the team that will put it into practice. A plan nobody knows how to execute is not a plan.

The last piece is measurement. A plan that is never checked against results is just an intention, so positioning and brand recall get measured again using the same fieldwork infrastructure that supports the market studies. That makes it possible to correct course on evidence while the year is still running, instead of finding out in December that something did not work. It is also what turns a plan into a living document rather than a deck that gets opened once a year.

Interactive digital coverage map used in territorial planning

What a marketing plan includes

Strategy

Integrated marketing plans
Branding and positioning
Multichannel advertising
Territorial coverage
Competitive benchmarking

Communication

Public relations
Crisis communication
Corporate identity manuals
Brand tone and narrative

Training

Marketing and sales courses
Customer service
Executive workshops
Strategy sessions

Where a plan comes from

01
Diagnosis
RP&A analyses the competitive environment, sector trends and the client's real capabilities. It draws on existing research where it is recent and sound, and runs whatever is missing: planning on assumptions is the most common cause of plans that do not work.
02
Strategy
This is where positioning, priority markets and territorial coverage get defined. Both what will be done and what will be dropped are decided on field evidence, with competitive benchmarking providing the external contrast that internal exercises usually lack.
03
Communication
RP&A defines brand tone and narrative and delivers the corporate identity manuals. It includes the public relations plan and, where applicable, the crisis communication protocol: messages, spokespeople and channels defined before the crisis happens.
04
Training
Marketing and sales courses, customer service and executive workshops, so the plan is executed by prepared people. That is the difference between handing over a strategy and handing over a strategy the client's team knows how to start on Monday.

Questions about strategic planning

Do we need a market study before planning?

Not always, but it helps. RP&A Latinoamérica can start from the client's existing research if it is recent and methodologically sound. When there is none, or it is outdated, we run the minimum required: planning on assumptions is the most common cause of plans that do not work.

What exactly does a marketing plan include?

An RP&A plan includes a diagnosis of the environment and the competition, positioning definition, priority markets, territorial coverage, multichannel communication strategy and competitive benchmarking. It is delivered with identity manuals and, if required, training for the team that will execute it.

Do you handle crisis communication?

Yes. RP&A Latinoamérica develops crisis communication protocols within its public relations practice, defining messages, spokespeople and channels before the crisis happens, which is when it can be prepared with a cool head.

The other capabilities

RESEARCH

Have a project in mind?

Tell us the objective and the market, and we will send you a tailored proposal.